Notre Dame (25-13) posted its 16th victory in its last 18 games, scoring the game's only runs in a fourth-inning flurry. The injury-plagued Irish pitching staff has allowed just two earned runs in the past two games and seven over the past 21 innings.

Bowling Green (16-15)--which was coming off a 16-3 win over Big Ten Conference leader Michigan-- stranded 11 runners, including seven through the first five innings. Sophomore lefthander Chris Vaught (0-1) took the loss, allowing four runs (all earned) on nine hits over the first five innings, with five strikeouts.

McKeown (2-2) evened his season record after shutting out the Falcons through six one-hit innings. McKeown worked out of several jams, due to six walks and a pair of Irish errors, while striking out five BG batters. Kalita tacked on four strikeouts the rest of the way , with two walks, while picking up his first career save at Notre Dame.

The one-hitter is the first by a Notre Dame pitching staff in 246 games, since David Sinnes and Chris Michalak combined on a 2-0, seven-inning home win over Detroit-Mercy on May 1, 1993. The last nine-inning one-hitter by the Irish came five games earlier, when Sinnes posted a commanding 6-0 complete game win at Evansville, on April 24, 1993 (one of five one-hitters by the talented '93 Irish pitching staff).

The last no-hitter by the Notre Dame pitching staff occurred on May 11, 1988, when Brian Piotrowicz turned in a seven-inning victory over Ball State (4-0).

McKeown surrendered a single to center by the second batter of the game, sophomore switch-hitter Drew Niles, before not allowing a hit by the next 24 batters he faced.

The Irish broke open a scoreless game with a four-run fourth inning. Senior catcher Mike Amrhein led off with single to left field and Vaught struck out Jeff Wagner before the Irish unleashed five straight hits. Freshman second baseman Brant Ust ripped a shot off Vaught's glove before sophomore leftfielder Allen Greene moved Amrhein to third on a single to left, with Ust getting tagged out after overrunning second.

Freshman first baseman Jeff Felker followed with single to right, plating Amrhein, before junior shortstop Todd Frye lifted a two-run triple to right-center field. Senior third baseman J.J. Brock capped the rally with a single to center.

McKeown walked the bases loaded in the top of the fifth but forced Bob Niemet into an inning-ending groundout to Felker at first base.

The Irish again received a balanced offensive effort, with seven players combining on 10 hits while the #6-#9 combined to bat 5-for-12.

NOTES

Senior centerfielder Randall Brooks sent a sharp first-inning single to the backhand side of third baseman Brian Cannon, becoming the ninth player in Irish baseball history to reach the 200-hit plateau ... the milestone is all the more noteworthy due to the fact that Brooks had just nine at-bats during his freshman year ... the only Irish players to reach 200 hits in three seasons have been Pat Pesavento (204 from 1986-88), Dan Peltier (257 from 1987-89) and Scott Sollmann (239 from 1994-96). Peltier and Sollmann both left school after being drafted at the end of their junior seasons while Pesavento added 92 hits in his senior year.

Amrhein's 2-for-4 day left his season batting average at .446, just behind the Notre Dame record of .447, set by Edwin Hartwell in 1993 ... his 240 career hits place him fourth all-time at Notre Dame, just ahead of former teammate Scott Sollmann (239, from 1994-96) ... Amrhein has hits in 35 of 38 games this season and has yet to go hitless in a nine-inning game.

The triples on Wednesday by Greene, Frye and Brooks give Notre Dame a BIG EAST-leading 24 for the season ... the school record for triples in a season is 41 (in 1994), one of several record the Irish are flirting with this season.

During the recent 16-2 run, Notre Dame has recorded 10 or more hits in 13 games while averaging 9.4 runs per game during that stretch.

Amrhein and Brooks are the second pair of Irish teammates to reach 200 career hits in the same season, joining Craig Counsell (235) and Joe Binkiewicz (244), who teamed together on the potent 1992 team.

Bowling Green inning 8
Matt Best grounded out to 3b. M. Mlynarek grounded out to p. Matt Craig
reached on an error by cf, advanced to second on the error. Matt Craig
advanced to third on a wild pitch. Donny Schone flied out to rf. 0 runs, 0
hits, 1 error, 1 LOB.

Game Notes:
Randall Brooks notches his 200th career hit, the ninth Notre Dame player
to reach that milestone. Amrhein notched his 240th career hit to pass
Scott Sollmann for fourth place all-time at Notre Dame.